How the open-plan office can be bad for your health

SNIFFERS. Pen tappers. Loud talkers. Hearing every detail of someone's weekend as they regale it to their 91 relatives. Not to mention
distracting pictures of Miranda Kerr.

We all know the pitfalls of the open-plan office, but for certain people they can be hazardous to your health.

Insight Matters corporate psychologist Stephanie Thompson said introverted personalities are ill-suited to working in an open-plan space as they are more sensitive to external noises.

"The common stereotype [of an introvert] is someone who is not sociable but it's not about that," she said.

"They are equally interested in social contact [as extroverts] but the introvert seems to have a more sensitive mechanism towards other intrusive stimuli like noise, movement, interruptions, and those sorts of things."

Ms Thompson said she had "lost count" of the number of people that have come to her because they are stressed out by the seating arrangements at work.

Senior engineers, bankers and people working in financial services were among those who found the open-plan environment challenging, particularly when focusing on complex tasks like analysing figures or working on documents.

"It is challenging if you have one person with a particularly loud voice or who isn't that sensitive. You can't un-hear that. One person affects dozens. Sometimes that needs to be managed by coaching them and being considerate," Ms Thompson said.

On the flip side, open-plan offices can be great places for extroverted personality types, or where the job demands it like working in a newsroom, or performing menial tasks which are better done with company.

Ms Thompson said those who do struggle in an open-plan space should structure their day creatively so they can spend time getting jobs done in quiet areas.

"Sometimes it's a question of working from home for some of the week, we also do things like nominate meeting rooms, take a laptop to the roof or physically remove themselves for particular critical tasks," she said.

Keyboard bashers, dirty plates and passive-aggressive Post-it notes were also among the most annoying traits of open-plan, according to a quick poll of the news.com.au offices.

Do you work in an open-plan environment? Tell us whether you love or loathe your office in the comments below.

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